NGC 2008
Last updated
NGC 2008 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Pictor, discovered by John Herschel in 1834. It is classified as an Sc-type galaxy, featuring a small central bulge and loosely wound spiral arms. Its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 10,367 ± 11 km/s, which gives a Hubble distance of roughly 153 ± 11 megaparsecs (about 499 million light-years). The galaxy has a luminosity class of III and an apparent magnitude of 13.2.
Four non-redshift measurements place its distance at about 135.750 ± 10.521 megaparsecs (roughly 443 million light-years), which falls within the Hubble distance range. Using the Hubble distance, the galaxy’s diameter would be approximately 77 kiloparsecs (about 253,000 light-years). According to Soares and colleagues, NGC 2007 and NGC 2008 form a pair, but since NGC 2007 has a Hubble distance of 67.57 ± 4.73 megaparsecs (about 220 million light-years), the two are considered an optical pair rather than a physically bound one.
Background
NGC 2008 was discovered by British astronomer John Herschel in 1834. Its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 10,367 ± 11 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 153 ± 11 Mpc (~499 million ly). It is classified as a type Sc galaxy with a small central bulge structure and open spiral arms. Four non-redshift measurements yield a distance of 135.750 ± 10.521 Mpc (~443 million ly), which falls within the Hubble distance range.
The NASA/IPAC database uses the average value of independent measurements to calculate a galaxy's diameter; consequently, if the Hubble distance were used, the diameter of NGC 2008 would be approximately 77 kpc (~253,000 ly). According to Soares and his colleagues, NGC 2007 and NGC 2008 form a pair of galaxies. However, the Hubble distance of NGC 2007 is 67.57 ± 4.73 Mpc (~220 million ly), indicating that these two galaxies form a purely optical pair rather than a physical one.
More in NGC Objects
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: NGC 2008 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced